Saturday we woke up very early to head off to Canterbury. This time, students from KU, Texas A&M and Chapman were all together. Our tour guide was amazing and we learned so much about London while we were driving through. On our way to Canterbury we even saw the brand new 2012 Olympic stadium! Canterbury is such a cute small town and very historical. The Medieval part of the city is surrounded by cement walls covered in sharp flint rock. We walked along this route into the heart of the city. The biggest tourist point seemed to be the Canterbury Cathedral. It was absolutely huge and had several giant gates surrounding it. We started off here and went through the cathedral, which included several gardens, and a crypt. We had free time for lunch so we grabbed some fish and chips that were better than our first try at the traditional food. During the rest of our free time we shopped and walked around.
Cathedral Gate:
Inside:
Molly and I:
After meeting back up with our tour guide, he began to take us through and show us different sites. Some of these included where the Magna Carta was signed, Homes of famous writers like Geoffery Chaucer (author of Canterbury Tales) and even a place where Queen Victoria was set up on a royal date! We made our way back to the bus and headed back to London.
Beautiful Canterbury:
I'm glad we were able to go to Canterbury because I don't think I would ever go there for a day trip if I had been on vacation because there are just so many trips to take from London!
Saturday night the four of us met up with our friends from Chapman who live in a different building. Since we had so much fun at Angel a few weeks ago, we decided to try it again. Rachel's friend from elementary school was in town so we all met up at The Bull. The bar was packed but a fun place to start out. After a drink we headed down the road and a small bar playing some serious oldies caught our attention. It was so fun to hear all this music and everyone was dancing. We ended the night at the same bar we had been to several weeks prior, but had never learned the name of. On Saturday nights however, they give you a stamp with the bar's name so you can't forget! Keston Lounge was similarly packed but we remembered why we liked it so much when we all got our amazing cocktails.
Rachel and I:
Molly and Kelsie:
On our way home I discovered a delicious end of the evening meal- mac n' cheese for 2 pounds. amazing.
Sunday we woke up a bit late and were ready to call off our plans when we realized we only had about 4 more days to do fun day trips so we got ready and left for Brighton! It was an hour train ride to the south of England and a very popular tourist spot for the English and basically everywhere! As we walked out of the train station we could see the ocean! Brighton is an adorable town with lots of shops and restaurants. We made a b-line for the beach (which is all pebbles!) and took in the view of the south side of the English channel. Rachel and I were even brave enough to put our feet in the freezing water! The sea was beautiful and although the beach wasn't the most fun to walk barefoot on, it was an interesting change to beaches in the US. Brighton has a huge pier with food, shops, arcades and rides! Feeling a bit famished, the group went to a restaurant down on the beach to share some snacks and drinks. We walked around the town a bit to see the shops and other attractions afterwards.
Brighton!
The Beach
Grabbing drinks
Tim and Kelsie were feeling adventerous so they wanted to try the crazy ride that swings you around over the water! The rest of us attempted the "crazy mouse" roller coaster that was surprisingly scary. After the ride-fest we looked for a good dinner stop. We settled at Bar De La Mer and while they didn't have the selection some of us might have liked, it all worked out. I split scallops with Rachel and had my first steak of the summer! Stuffed, we headed toward the train station but not without stopping to pick up some donuts that we couldn't resist.
Kelsie and Tim!
Bye Brighton
Once we arrived back at home in London, I discovered that I was bright red on my arms, back and chest! A cold shower helped and we all just passed out after an amazing weekend in England!
This week is our second to last week of work, and we are going to try and pack in a lot of activities in the week! During the weekend we are planning on heading to Windsor Castle and Oxford.
cb
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